Friday, February 20, 2009

I have a lot to report that will probably never be told on account of the ridiculous amount of "socializing" I've been doing. Sem problema. It's summertime, and if no one else in Brazil achieves anything, why should I?

Actually, I should have ample time in the coming days to fill you in, at least in part. Tomorrow (err, later today) is both Shelley's birthday and the beginning of Carnaval. We (that is, Shelley and her parents [imported from Florida, one week only], Rafael, Ivan [which I finally mastered in English: ee-BAHN], and Tapi [visiting from Barcelona-ish]), and I will celebrate with some top-notch churrasco at Na Brasa tomorrow night. Yum. Around midnight we'll head to the Carnaval parades. They go on until 6am. (Insert half-delighted, half-frightened grimace here.) After that, though, everyone is buggering off out of town. I will welcome the rest and regroup--time to catch up with family and friends on Skype and get some writing done.

The last couple weeks have been filled with lessons, pub crawls, a samba school rehearsal, and other hyjinx. I have pictures but lack the will to pass them along at the moment. Tonight, I just wanted to "check in," say that I'm well, and relay two things that Ivan recently said that made me laugh. Granted they were probably funnier in the moment, without accompanying backstory, but...

On hot and breezy February 14th, I was sitting at one of many streetside cafe/bars in Porto Alegre, chatting in an interesting mix of English, Spanish, and Portuguese with friends. We ordered a few beers and some appetizers, including a plate of the local delicacy-chicken hearts. Tapi--new on the scene--was reluctant at first, but tuned into his adventurous spirit when Ivan exclaimed, "It's Valentines Day, you have to eat chicken hearts!"

Then, tonight, out with roughly the same crew of mischief-makers, some dance club chatter began about the time that Santissimo was closing. Poor Ivan, who hasn't slept in about two weeks, agreed to tag along for the after-hours. His reasoning: "Well. If you're going to cross the line, you've got to cross it properly."

"How did you end up here?"

All stories have a beginning, though not all stories have a clear plot. I chucked my U.S. life in 2008 and moved (yes, alone) to Porto Alegre, Brazil. In the spirit of courage, ambition, adventure, and curiosity, I set out to restore and recreate my Self. In the beginning I wrote under the quaintly misspelled nickname Loquinha Gauchinha, and My Life In Havaianas represented, to me, a new adventure.

In 2010 I moved to São Paulo, because, well, "Leap and the net will appear." I turned Paulistinha(but stayed "colorada"). Nets did appear --amazingly, but not surprisingly--again. Yet a year later I was on my way back to the States. A masters in US-Brazil collaboration kept me occupied and laid groundwork for later evolution.

Today, My Life In Havaianas has a new meaning to me. It represents a Self I recreated and continue to expand. It is a state of mind. A passion reignited. I'm ready to fill in the gaps. For now, you can call me Jenjinha.